Chatting

Cezille07

Inspired by different reasons, LNa and Loner07 are going to finally meet for the first time. Or maybe not the "first" time....

CHAPTER 4: A Date?

Cries met her at home. Twin cries, helpless, hungry cries. Exasperated cries from tired parents.

"No, don't add cologne to the diaper, are you crazy? Their skins are delicate!"

"How am I supposed to know? I didn't read the baby books, you did!"

"That's the problem! I had to bear them for nine months, give birth to them, now take care of them by myself?!"

"I'm trying to help you! But it looks like you don't want it anyway!"

"You're not helping at all! I recall that day...you ran around in circles before you found the delivery room, fidgeted more than me when I was giving birth, and nearly picked up the wrong babies at the nursery! You're too scared for your own good, for our children's good!"

Elena gave her parents one glance and knew they weren't going to listen to a word she said if she bothered. But she wasn't going to anyway. She made a beeline for her room with a conversation rehearsing in her mind.

She did pass the babies' room, though. It distracted her for a moment, brought back memories of her Charlie as her only friend, not as a little burden that had just been added to her already heavy load. There lay his baby clothes, assorted in color and design to differentiate between the twins. But they didn't really look alike, she pondered. Or maybe it was because she remembered every detail of Charlie's face, and no matter what he had in common with Violet, they were never going to be identical for her.

She released a long sigh, like those she saw in the movies when adults realized something deep about life. What had she learned now? To be accepting of what destiny passes on to her hands? To wait loyally for the sun to start shining when it starts to rain? No, she thought. She felt it had something to do with Charlie's departure and her meeting with Loner, both of which inspired radical changes in her life all of a sudden. What did it mean? That she was finally growing up? Or just taking a step higher? Either way, that was good, right?

She shook her head, took a seat at her desk, and turned on her laptop, but without the anticipation she had the morning she decided it was Loner who should know everything she was keeping inside. Again, what did he have that her parents didn't? That her classmates didn't? That Charlie didn't? Whatever it was, he had certainly caught her with a strong line, and though no bait was present, she didn't want to let go of the hook anyway.

For the last time she hit her forehead with her palm and whispered to her laptop, "My name is Elena Potato, and I am a normal person. I don't need this...." But deep inside she knew it was a lie. Her hands on the keyboard, she waited for the programs to finish loading at start-up, and ran Yahoo Messenger.

She saw Loner's status message, which he hadn't changed since the last time they chatted—three weeks ago. She half-wondered why it had taken her this long to muster the courage to speak up about...everything. There were times she just wanted to blurt out she was in love with him, and was willing to give anything for his sake, his happiness. But that was just plain stupid. And she had another life, albeit one she disliked as much as the thought of Charlie leaving—her 'normal' life. Would she give that up for a person she's never met, only thrilled her with a simple conversation, a few sentences? Maybe. She liked him. A lot. Even if only for those few words he had imparted, for those short moments he generously offered.

So here goes. "Hey Loner, are you there?"

"Always."

She blushed. "Let's meet up. I hope you're not busy right now."

"Right now?"

"Now right now." She had no idea she could kindle reactions from other people too.

"I've been wondering when since we first met."

'Met'? Did he just use the word 'met'? Aha! Signs that...no, they were just signs and they'll remain signs until she proved what they meant. "You know the school?"

"I study there, of course."

"In front of the gates."

"Okay."

"So, I'll see you there!"

She logged out faster than a car on the highway. She wasn't as thrilled as she expected herself to be when she planned this. Other than the occasional moments when she thought her heart stopped beating, she was fine. Instead of waiting right in front of the gate as agreed upon, Elena stood behind one of the trees decorating the grounds. This was her plan? Yes, to unmask her savior first. Who is behind the mysterious but welcoming friend she had so come to like?

It was mid-afternoon. Few people lingered in the school to hang out, not too many stayed even for homework. She watched as the crowd around her thinned, with no sign of Loner anywhere.

Hang on, what if he was watching her too?

As he imagined, his girl Elena was a no-show. He stood a few feet from their designated meeting place, but found her nowhere in sight. She was the one who suggested this affair, to do away with the informality, the oddness of their relation, or whatever it was that bonded them. He knew it since he laid eyes on her. She was as wary of the world as he was. And if this was true, she was probably somewhere far off having a laugh that he showed up at all.

He sighed. There went his investment on the possibly long term friendship he intended to have with her.

He set his mind on leaving. There would be a time for her to know, a time for him to tell her everything, how much a single look changed his life. And why it bothered him.

He liked her too.

In some odd, friendly kind of way.

Or maybe more.

He couldn't care less. What he cared about right now was that she wasn't there to meet him right then. She was unlike the chat-mate he found in her, at least the few times they actually 'spoke' to each other. And he was disappointed.

"For your sake, give up, please?" he thought to himself, almost pleading. For a full thirty minutes, he stood his ground, but after the half hour expired, he let the thought that she would actually like him back, go.

"Zick?"

She had to say his name aloud. It was even harder to believe this way.

She had waited the half hour too, but unlike Loner, she saw what she was looking for. So Loner was Zick. He was far closer than she thought he was. She didn't know if the revelation scared her, or made her more anxious to know about him. Maybe both. It was him?! The thin-framed, remarkably blue-haired boy who had once impressed her as Loner did, by saving her from her daily routine?

But oddly, it all fit together somehow. No, she wouldn't tell him, not just yet. Out of experience, when she told people how much they meant to her, the relationship suffered an ending less than friendly: like Charlie, like the friends who left her behind—or whom she left behind in New York. But the sanctity of this secret, she decided, was going to live on inside of her: what they had was perfect. Chat-mates, hiding in the sanctuary of the virtual world, secretly admiring the other's strengths. Who knows? Who knows....